Saturday, April 25, 2015

This is a photo of a glass of wort: the solution of barley sugar and hops, boiled in a brew-kettle, that will eventually become a beer. Careful. It's hot!

And what a splendid-looking wort sample it is.

A vivid garnet hue; the clarity of a well-produced wort; and the obvious specks of a 'hot break': proteins, carbohydrates, polyphenols, hop acids, fatty acids, and other solids from barley and hops that coagulate during the boil, and that will be left behind in the kettle when the wort is chilled and sent to a fermentation tank.

I didn't take this photo. Kristi Mathews Griner, brewmaster for Capitol City Brewing Company, did ... just after her lead brewer at the Arlington, Virginia, brewpub, Matt Ryan, had finished mashing, and separating the wort, from his recipe (23 April 2015).

In two weeks or so, after yeast has done its magic, this wort will have been transmogrified to a Ruby Red Mild, and Capitol City will serve it, in draught and cask-conditioned fashion.

The beer is brewed with Irish Stout malt from the Malting Company of Ireland, Munich, flaked barley, crystal, Caramunich, and a touch of chocolate malt. Hops are American, Summit and Cluster, and yeast is American as well. Anticipated ABV is 4.1% with 23 IBUs. Beautiful garnet hue.

The occasion will be the first-ever American Mild Month, a month-long celebration in May, when brewers and drinkers across the the United States will "indulge in mild ales," arguably, the quintessential 'session' beer style. *

*American Mild Month is the campaign of Alistair Reece, a blogger in Charlottesville, Virginia. During the month of May, breweries and pubs across the United States will be participating in American Mild Month. For more information, or to sign up: